Corpach marina plans closer after £1.5m boost
PLANS to build a marina at Corpach have been given a huge boost after almost £1.5 million was awarded to the project this week, with work now expected to start on the site this summer.
The Scottish Government announced on Monday that the Highland Council has been awarded £1,465,000 to build a marina on Loch Linnhe at the entrance to the Caledonian Canal at Corpach.
The Regeneration Capital Grant Fund cash has been awarded to the council on behalf of the Caol Regeneration Company, which is developing the Thomas Telford Corpach Marina as a community project.
This funding announcement follows the news in January that the marina has secured marine licences for the dredging and construction works necessary to construct the new marina.
The team behind the project says that the marina will help stimulate regeneration within the communities of Caol and Corpach, neighbouring Fort William and the wider Lochaber area, and generate significant economic and social benefits.
Thomas Telford Corpach Marina chairman Andy McKenna said: ‘I am delighted with this fantastic news – we have a real project at last. This new marina, slipway and visitor centre will bring real benefits to our local area, including jobs and increased visitor spending, and opportunities for local people to take part in healthy outdoor water-based sports and activities.
‘The marina will also enhance Fort William’s reputation as the Outdoor Capital of the UK by providing excellent access to the water with its sheltered slipway, and quality marina berths for visitors arriving by boat to holiday in the Fort William area.’
The proposed Thomas Telford Corpach Marina aims to provide a high quality and sustainable year-round marina facility at the western gateway to the Caledonian Canal, including 40 yacht berths, marina services and facilities, toilets and showers, a public slipway, 40 car and trailer parking spaces, and a café, shop and visitor centre. The marina will be owned by the community, through the Caol Regeneration Company, a registered charity, and will be run as a community enterprise, with other third sector organisations operating the café, shop and visitor centre, as well as providing some of the marina services.
With planning permission already in place, the Caol Regeneration Company and project managers, Fort William-based Northern Light Consulting, can now focus on raising the remaining £1.5 million of funding needed to make the project a reality, as well as starting the procurement process for the contractors to deliver the project.
Caol Regeneration Company chairman Donnie Corbett expressed his delight in seeing the project get off the ground after nearly 10 years of planning.
He said: ‘It’s great to think that we could see boats in the water early next year. We’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us to raise the remaining funds to make sure that happens, but I’m sure the marina will be a great asset for the local community and a fitting legacy for the late Dr Su Sen, who played such an important part in making it a reality.’
Working in partnership with Highland Council, Scottish Canals and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the project is expected to start on site this summer and will be complete in the spring of 2019.
The total project budget is just under £3 million and, with the Big Lottery coastal communities fund closed in Scotland for the foreseeable future, the project team will have to rely more heavily on existing partners and other sources to raise the remaining funds.
Caol and Mallaig councillor and chairman of the Highland Council’s environment, development and infrastructure committee Allan Henderson wishes the group the very best with their plans. He said: ‘It is terrific news to get confirmation that this funding is in place and credit must go to everyone involved in securing the money. I look forward to seeing work on this exciting project get under way.
‘It’s going to certainly breathe new life into this area and will make a very positive contribution to the local community and to the whole of Lochaber.’
Previous projects run by the Caol Regeneration Company have included beach clean-ups and improvements to green spaces and footpaths, mainly through voluntary involvement and the use of contractors.